Maple Syrup Festival

Today we went to the Maple Syrup Festival at the Nature Center. Our naturalist took us on a walking tour to tell us about the history and science of maple syrup making.

We first learned about the various maple trees and how to distinguish them from each other. We also learned about how big a tree needs to be for a spigot, for two spigots, etc. And we learned how much sap can be collected from a tree...and how much actual maple syrup you can get from it. Roughly, you need 40 gallons of sap to produce just 1 gallon of syrup!

We also learned what is in sap, about 97% water and 3% sugar. There are also some minerals, potassium being one. We also learned the importance of sap for the tree's growth.

We heard a story about the first Native Americans to find and use sap. And we saw how they used heated rocks to boil the sap that was collected in a hollowed log.

And we learned the early American pioneer method of maple syrup making.

Georgia demonstrated how to use a yoke for carrying.

We also learned the different methods used in sap collecting today, by families and by commercial maple syrup makers.

We got to check out the new sugar shack that was built last year. We learned how the sap is boiled in the evaporator until the desired viscosity, or thickness.

On our walk from the sugar shack to the log house we got to hear a storyteller tell us a tale from pioneer life.

Inside the log house, we learned a bit about early pioneer life. We also sampled some sassafras tea, and the girls sampled some beef tongue. They are brave. They both said it was good.

We bought some maple candy and maple muffins from the bake sale....yummy.

If you are interested in learning about sugaring, here's "The Sugaring Story" from the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association & Vermont Maple Foundation. http://www.vermontmaple.org/maplestory.html

And here's an article from Science News for Kids: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20070314/Feature1.asp

I remember visiting some friends in Vermont during sugaring season when I was little. We collected some snow in bowls and poured hot syrup onto it. The syrup hardened and we picked up the candy and ate it. YUM!

We want to try out some maple syrup recipes. The difficulty is in deciding which one to try first!